Twice as Nice
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Amber twists her ankle after accepting a dare from James, and out of guilt he volunteers to look after her. Naturally, Amber plans to take advantage of the situation, but it may actually bring the twins closer together. (Sweet little story inspired by a bout of insomnia and watching "Play with Us" about twenty times in a row. :p Enjoy!)


Twice as Nice

Summary: Amber twists her ankle after accepting a dare from James, and out of guilt he volunteers to look after her. Naturally, Amber plans to take advantage of the situation, but it may actually bring the twins closer together.

Disclaimer: I don't own "Sofia the First!"

A/N: Okay, I'm just going to say one thing… I love the twins. They're so much fun to watch and listen to, and their recent song "Play With Us" has been stuck in my head for days! It's like the twin-version of "Bigger is Better" in some ways. Lol. So I wanted to write another story with these two and this happened to come to mind. Hope you enjoy!

The royal twins of Enchancia were outside one spring day, enjoying the nice weather while they had it. James had somehow talked Amber into playing a few games with him, and he was surprised that she'd agreed. He was even more surprised at how competent she could be at the games if she tried.

"Catch, Amber!" James called as he tossed a Frisbee toward her. He grinned when she squeaked once but managed to catch it rather gracefully. "Nice one, sis! I'm proud that you're finally not running from it."

"Oh, hush, James," she scolded with a scoff. "I'm not that bad. In fact, I could probably do just as many sports as you and Sofia if I wanted to."

The younger twin smirked. "You think so, huh? All right then." He grabbed a kickball from the storage unit and placed it on the grass in front of him. He looked toward his sister. "I dare you to kick this as hard as you can…_without_ sending your shoe flying this time."

She rolled her eyes. "That was an accident last time, and the swelling eventually went down." She grinned. "You can't even see your bump anymore."

"Funny. Okay, you ready?" Seeing her nod, he kicked the ball over to her, expecting one of her usual oh-so-delicate returns. He was impressed to see her actually kick it with a force, and he was even more surprised to notice that her shoe did not in fact leave her foot this time. He laughed when it sailed across the field before stopping about halfway down. "Nice job, Amber!"

"Ahh!" Amber dropped to the ground and grabbed her left ankle. "James, help!"

If he knew anything, James knew the sound of distress in his sister's voice by now. This time it didn't sound _as_ desperate, but it was enough to get him to rush to her and drop down beside her. "Amber, what happened?" He watched her cradling her foot and sniffling. "Are you all right?"

"I think I twisted my ankle." She pulled her shoe off and sighed. "I knew sports and I wouldn't get along."

James bit his lip. She wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't dared her to kick the ball so hard. True, she did a good job, but if it was at the expense of the mobility of his sister, it wasn't worth it. "Can you move it at all?"

Amber shot him a pointed look. "If I could move it, do you think I would have fallen to the ground and yelled for your help?" She winced when he touched her ankle gently. "Well, don't _touch_ it!"

The younger twin recoiled slightly, jerking his hand away and grinning sheepishly. "Sorry! Here, put your arm around me." Surprised that she complied so easily, he pulled Amber to a semi-standing position. Knowing that her left foot was useless right now, he pondered their options. "Wait here."

"That's not funny!" Amber whined when he rushed around the corner. She attempted to balance herself on her right foot but was finding it difficult given the sharp pain in her left foot and the weight of her dress. She gasped slightly when she felt something bump her knees, causing her to fall backward into a cushioned location. She looked down and frowned in confusion before tilting her head back to see James grinning at her. "A wheelbarrow, James? Really?"

"Hey, it gets the job done," he insisted, balancing it so she could push herself into a more comfortable position. "Make sure your feet aren't dragging the ground. I'm going to get you back to the castle."

"Fine…" Amber carefully situated herself in the wheelbarrow, allowing her injured ankle to find some comfort from the cushions. Speaking of which… "Why does this wheelbarrow have so many pillows in it?"

"I'm pretty sure one of the guards was taking a nap in it a few weeks ago," the blonde boy joked, laughing.

"I'm glad we have such competent protectors in Enchancia…" She rolled her eyes as her brother pushed her onward.

As they approached the castle, the blonde girl eyed her brother as he was humming energetically under his breath, and even attempting to do some dance moves to accompany the song he apparently was enjoying. She yelped when the wheel barrow moved sharply, nearly making her topple out. "_James_!"

"What? Huh?" He grinned guiltily as Amber glared at him. "Sorry, Amber! It was an accident…"

"Much like the accident that caused me to get into this predicament in the first place?"

The grin fell from his face and he shrugged, offering her a sincere look. "I really am sorry about that."

She sighed. "Never mind. Let's just get inside before anything else happens."

James stopped the wheel barrow and leveled it out against some of the steps before helping Amber up. He lowered his head as she wrapped one arm around his neck for balance. "Okay, just hang on to me." He then laughed, realizing something.

"What?" she asked, blinking at his sudden laughter.

"_No matter what I do, I'm always stuck with you_," he sang cheerfully, making his twin roll her eyes but smile lightly. "You know it's funny, Amber." James grinned and began their trek up the steps to the castle.

"You'll use any excuse to sing that song," she accused with a small laugh.

"You're not much better," he returned with a snicker. "I guess we really are related. You know, just in case our looks and similar motions weren't enough."

It took a bit longer than usual, but James and Amber arrived at her room, and without anyone stopping to ask what was wrong. Now that was weird; they would have expected at least Baileywick by now, but maybe they were just busy.

Amber gasped when she settled onto her bed.

"What's wrong?" James asked in concern. He then glanced at her bare left foot. "Hey, where's your shoe?"

"_That's_ what's wrong, James." She pouted. "I think I left it on the field…"

"I'll go get it! Eh, hopefully before Rex finds it." He laughed when Amber's face turned worried. "I'm sure he didn't get it yet, Amber. I'll be right back." He quickly left from the room, leaving the other blonde alone.

Amber sighed and kicked off her other shoe. She leaned down and observed her swollen ankle with disdain. It figured that the one time she actually decided to be somewhat active, she'd get hurt. However, she couldn't help but feel grateful, and a smile graced her face once more.

James was certainly being more helpful and even nicer than usual, and she so appreciated it. This was the kind of bond everyone talked about with twins, she assumed: if one hurt, the other did. If one was happy, the other was. Maybe he was just responding to her pain…or maybe Sofia had rubbed off on him over the last few years. Either way, she made a mental note to thank him.

"Found it!" James announced with a grin as he entered the room. He placed the shoe on the floor next to her other discarded one and dusted off his jacket. "Rex didn't find it, but a bird did. I shooed her away before she made a nest in it." He laughed.

Amber smiled. "Thanks, James." She reclined against a wall of fluffy pillows as she sighed. "I guess I'm stuck here for a while until my ankle heals."

"You know, I could just get Cedric to come fix your ankle. Where is he?"

She rolled her eyes. "Rudistan with Sofia."

"Man, again? Those two are always going off somewhere." He shook his head.

"Well, James, thank you for your help; since I'm practically useless right now, I guess you're going to have to play by yourself." She lowered her eyes.

James pondered her words before grinning. He knelt to the chest she kept safely hidden—except from him, of course—and opened it, withdrawing a white book. He blew off some dust before walking over to the other side of her bed and climbing onto it. He kicked off his own shoes and slid next to his sister.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, watching him relax into the pillows and flip to a different page in the book.

"Getting comfortable. If we can't play together, we can at least find _something_ fun to do. And since I was responsible for your twisted ankle, I'll make up for it. So relax while I read you a story."

Amber giggled at the very idea of her twin reading to her, but she grabbed a blanket from the end of her bed and draped it over them as she settled down. "All right… But only because there's really nothing else we can do."

"Mm-hmm." He flipped a few more pages and grinned. "_Once upon a time_…"

About an hour later, Baileywick knocked on Amber's door. The castle staff had mentioned seeing Amber limping earlier, so he was concerned. He paused, attempting to hear any sign of confirmation. "Princess Amber?" Hearing nothing, he pushed open the door, and he stopped immediately as a fond smile made its way to his face.

Amber and James were both fast asleep, the blanket covering them both and the book long since fallen from James's hands. Their hands were clasped together, much like the steward remembered them doing as little children.

Baileywick chuckled lightly and moved the book to the bedside table as he grabbed a heavier blanket and covered the two royal children with it, making sure they were comfortable. "Good night, Your Highnesses." He smiled and left the room quietly, closing the door behind him.

Amber sighed in her sleep and smiled, squeezing her brother's hand unconsciously as they remained in their dream worlds.

The end

A/N: I actually plan to do another story with the twins soon. I may be like a "mini series" of stories for them, because I adore their relationship and friendship. They bring out the best in each other, and I see them starting to act more like twins as the show progresses. It's nice to see. :) Look for the next story soon! ~AquaTurquoise

CedricAmber: Thanks for the review on "Paint the Sky!" It's fine; I haven't been on Chatzy much myself, except for maybe a few minutes every other day. Lol and we both share a love of cute and happy things. :P And yep, I brought back Clover for a bit. I like him a lot, but he doesn't always "fit in" with the plot line, so there's that… :D Hostage will be out soon, hopefully within the next week! Thanks for the kind words. ;) See ya around!


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